Tams gun down Warriors, gain Final 4; Falcons win

Games today (MOA Arena)

2 p.m. – AdMU vs NU

4 p.m. – UP vs UST

MANILA, Philippines - Charging Far Eastern U clinched the first Final Four berth while also-ran Adamson picked up a huge upset as the top and bottom teams prevailed over separate foes yesterday in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tamaraws leaned on a clutch trey from Roger Pogoy to outlast University of the East, 71-67, and secure their third straight semis appearance with plenty to spare. The Tams extended their streak to eight games for a leading 9-1 card while handing UE its seventh loss in 10 starts.

They may be already out of the running for the playoffs but the Falcons showed they still have fight in them as they claimed the scalp of contender La Salle, 75-74, in the opener.

“It’s really tough for us. Good thing, we made the necessary stops in the end game,” said FEU coach Nash Racela.

Pogoy knocked down his first triple for the night to give FEU a 69-65 spread with 1:32 to go. The hard-fighting Warriors pulled two points back with a bucket by Nick Abanto but FEU hung tough on defense in the final sequences with Achie Inigo eventually sinking the insurance charities.

“Scary win. This has always been the case everytime we play a team like UE which never gives up,” said Racela.

Mac Belo fired 16 points while Pogoy finished with 12. The duo took charge in the fourth with Mike Tolomia sitting on the bench due to a sprained ankle.

Bonbon Batiller led the Warriors with 13.

Earlier,  Pape Sarr and redemption-seeking Joseph Nalos pumped in a combined 22 points in the payoff period, outscoring the entire Archers squad (15), as the Falcons clawed back from 16 points down to score only their second win against nine losses. The Archers, who failed to hit the mark against AdU’s zone, dropped to 5-5 for fourth spot.

Sarr finished with 23 to go with 14 rebounds while Nalos, who returned to action after serving his suspension in AdU’s heart-breaking 79-85 overtime loss to National U last Wednesday, fired 20 and dished out six assists.

“We had a tough loss last time (to NU) and the key there was how to lift up their spirits. We told them to just forget about it, let’s move on,” said AdU coach Mike Fermin, whose school beat DLSU for the first time since 2011.

It was particularly special for Nalos, who felt he was unreasonably crucified on social media for the hard foul on Ateneo’s Vince Tolentino that led to his ejection and subsequent suspension.

“It wasn’t my intention to hurt Vince but I accept the consequences of my action,” said the Cebuano guard. “I wanted to make it up because I wasn’t able to help the team against NU last game.”

Nalos and Sarr sparked a 20-9 blast to start the fourth as AdU knotted the count at 68-all.

With the game level at 73-73, Sarr drew Jason Perkins’ fifth foul and calmly sank both freebies to give the Falcons a two-point cushion with 15 seconds left.

Prince Rivero went to the stripe, cashed in on the front end and missed the second, but DLSU got a new lease on life as it regained possession following a double-lane violation, 8.5 ticks left.